Nepal's President Bidhya Devi Bhandari to visit India

Nepal's first woman President Bidhya Devi Bhandari will pay an official visit to India next month on the invitation of her Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee.

"India shares unique centuries old civilisational links with Nepal. Our age-old ties have been constantly nurtured by frequent exchanges of high-level visits. In this context, we look forward to welcoming the President of Nepal Smt. Bidhya Devi Bhandari next month in India on her first official visit abroad since taking office," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Vikas Swarup told the media here.

"Honourable Rashtrapati ji has extended an invitation to her for the official visit during which she will be our honoured guest to stay at the Rashtrapati Bhawan while in New Delhi," he added.

Swarup further said President Bhandari has also evinced an interest in participating in the Simhastha Maha Kumbh festival in Ujjain next month.

As close neighbours, India and Nepal share a unique relationship of friendship and cooperation characterized by open borders and deep-rooted people-to-people contacts of kinship and culture.

There are regular exchanges of high level visits and interactions between India and Nepal. Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala visited India to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 26, 2014.

In 2014, Prime Minister Modi visited Nepal twice - in August for a bilateral visit and in November for the SAARC Summit - during which several bilateral agreements were signed.

India and Nepal have several bilateral institutional dialogue mechanisms, including the India-Nepal Joint Commission co-chaired by External Affairs Minister of India and Foreign Minister of Nepal.